John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. He also collaborated with other artists, most notably Pat Metheny and Joni Mitchell. His bass playing employed funk, lyrical solos, bass chords, and innovative harmonics. As of 2017, he is the only electric bassist of seven bassists inducted into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, and has been lauded as one of the best electric bassists of all time.
Word of Mouth is the second solo studio album by American bassist Jaco Pastorius, released in 1981, while he was still a member of the jazz fusion group Weather Report, and also the name of a big band that Pastorius assembled and with which he toured from 1981 to 1983.
The music of Belgium is a cultural mix where Flemish Dutch-speaking and Walloon French-speaking traditions mix with those of German minorities and of immigrant communities from Democratic Republic of the Congo or other distant countries.
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans, known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistling skills, and composing. According to jazz historian Ted Gioia, his most important contribution was in "championing the humble harmonica", which Thielemans made into a "legitimate voice in jazz". He eventually became the "preeminent" jazz harmonica player.
Pierre Van Dormael was a Belgian jazz guitarist and composer.
Philip Catherine is a Belgian jazz guitarist.
Steve Houben is a Belgian jazz saxophonist and flutist.
Erik Vermeulen is a Belgian jazz pianist. He entered the Belgian jazz scene when he was 22 with his trio. At the time, it featured Heyn Van de Geyn on bass and Dré Pallemaerts on drums. Soon after that, he started performing with different jazz bands and musicians including the Frank Vaganée Quartet, Erwin Vann Quartet and Peter Hertmans.
Svend Asmussen was a Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking". A Swing style virtuoso, he played and recorded with many of the other jazz musicians, including Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Stephane Grappelli. He played publicly until 2010 when he had a blood clot, his career having spanned eight decades.
Nicolas Thys is a Belgian bassist. He graduated in 1994 from the Hilversum Conservatory, where he also taught bass and double bass. Thys took private lessons with Dave Holland, Marc Helias and Marc Johnson. He received several awards, most notably the Golden Django award for best young talent in 2001. Thys performed live with Toots Thielemans, Garrett List, Judy Niemack, Mark Turner, Jeanfrançois Prins, Ivan Paduart, Kris Defoort, Kenny Werner, and Mike Stern. He released his first CD with his band Alice's 5 Moons in 1997.
Sketches of Belgium is a 1993 album by jazz band K. D.'s Basement Party led by Kris Defoort. It is the first release of De Werf label, and the only release by K. D.'s Basement Party. The three musicians from Aka Moon play on the album. It was recorded on September 7, 8, 9, 30 and October 1 and 2 in 1992.
Andreas Öberg is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, and music producer.
Michel Herr is a Belgian jazz pianist, composer and arranger. In addition to releasing jazz albums, composing for jazz ensembles and touring widely as a performing musician, he has also composed scores for films. As a bandleader he founded several bands: Solis Lacus, Michel Herr European Quintet, Michel Herr & Unexpected Encounters. He is also a music producer.
Peter Alexandru Herbolzheimer was a Romanian-German jazz trombonist and bandleader.
Affinity is an album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans released in 1979, featuring Belgian harmonica player Toots Thielemans. Bill Evans plays a Rhodes piano on many of the tracks. It is the recording debut for bassist Marc Johnson.
Jacob Fischer is a self-taught Danish jazz guitarist. Since 1992 he has been a member of the Svend Asmussen Quartet and founded his own Jacob Fischer Trio, where he plays alongside Hugo Rasmussen on bass and Janus Templeton on drums. He is a member of Christina von Bülow's trio and the Kristian Jørgensens Quartet.
The history of jazz in Belgium starts with the Dinant instrument maker Adolphe Sax, whose saxophone became part of military bands in New Orleans around 1900 and would develop into the jazz instrument par excellence. From then on the early history of jazz in Belgium virtually runs parallel to developments in the country of the birth of jazz, from the minstrel shows in the late 19th century until the first Belgian jazz album in 1927 and beyond.
Elis & Toots is a 1969 bossa nova album by Brazilian singer Elis Regina and Belgian jazz musician Toots Thielemans recorded at a studio in Sweden and released on Philips Records. It features Toots Thielemans on harmonica, whistling and vocalizing playing guitar alongside. Thielemans and Elis Regina are actually heard on just four songs together, they both sit out on four of the twelve tracks. The accompanying quintet throughout comprises pianist Antônio Adolfo, Roberto Menescal, guitarist and the composer of four songs on the album, bassist Jurandir Duarte, Wilson das Neves on drums and Hermes Contesini on percussion. On three tracks Claes Rosendahl wrote arrangements for an additional string section.
Jeanfrançois Prins is a Belgian jazz guitarist, composer, vocalist and record producer. He has spent many years between New York City and Berlin where he was leading the Jazz Guitar departments in both music universities for a total of 12 years. Upon his return to Belgium in 2016, he became the CEO of the GAM Records label in 2017.
Invitation is the third album by Jaco Pastorius, released in December 1983. This is a live album recorded at various venues during a tour of Japan in September 1982, featuring his "Word of Mouth" big band. While his debut album showcased his eclectic and impressive skills on the electric bass, both Invitation and his previous album, Word of Mouth focused more on his ability to arrange for a larger band.
